Paintball is a sport played by individuals or teams armed with pneumatic markers or guns that shoot pellets filled with paint or dye, known as paintballs. The location of games and the format played may vary, but the objective of most games is to shoot paintballs at other individuals, players on another team, or targets. Scoring is often determined by flag hangs, how long a base is held, or a variety of other completed objectives.
Paintballs are constructed to easily break on impact with a target; however, this means that paintballs often break within the paintball marker, paintball loader, or the barrel of the marker. Breakage within the marker can be the result of a number of causes including a paintball that is too small or too large, a paintball that is improperly loaded in the marker chamber, or manufacturing defects. When a paintball breaks within the paintball marker, the paint from the paintball coats the inner surfaces of the marker, usually including the barrel of the marker. The excess paint from the broken paintball can disrupt the ballistics of the marker and reduce accuracy or cause failure of the entire marker. This problem can be fixed by cleaning the equipment to rid the system of any excess paint.
A swab or a squeegee is a tool commonly used to clean the barrel of a paintball marker that contains paint from a broken paintball. One or both ends of the tool are typically covered with an absorbent material or flexible (e.g. rubber or rubber-like) material. When a paintball breaks in the barrel or a barrel otherwise needs cleaned or swept, the player sticks one end of the tool into the barrel. Twisting and/or removing the swab allows the absorbent or flexible end to soak up or move paint or other debris out of the barrel. Although structures and methods can be effective in removing much of the paint from the interior of the barrel, often some excess paint is still left behind, and the accuracy and firing issues due to the broken paintball remains.
There remains a need for a more effective cleaning apparatus for paintball equipment.